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“Don’t worry. I’ve already alerted Presley, and he’ll take precautions. I want both of you to do the same. Heck, I’ll even give Dwight a heads up just in case he’s innocent.” Ruby’s gaze dropped to Angel’s arm that was still around Mia. “In the meantime, quit working and get some rest. That’s an order,” she added before she ended the call.
Angel looked down at Mia and was about to reinforce that order, but she spoke first. “Please don’t let it be Melanie or RJ,” she muttered.
He was right there with her. It was hard to wrap your mind around beloved foster parents turned would be killers. Still, it was impossible to know what was in a person’s heart.
“Too bad McBride and Crawford aren’t alive so they can tell us who hired them,” Angel grumbled. “Because I seriously doubt this was some sort of botched home invasion or armed robbery.”
She caught onto his chin, turning his face toward her so they had direct eye contact. “You had to take the kill shots. It was the only way you could guarantee our safety. RJ, Melanie, and I would likely be dead if it weren’t for you.”
It twisted at him to know that was true. To know just how damn close he’d come to losing them. If he’d missed either gunman… Angel stopped. Best not to conjure up the worst-case scenarios.
Especially since he didn’t believe the killer was done with them.
With that dismal thought racing through his head, he decided to obey Ruby’s order. Also, since Mia looked ready to collapse, he scooped her up in his arms, causing her to first make a sound of surprise before she chuckled.
“I could walk,” she muttered, dropping her head on his shoulder and yawning.
“Possibly,” he said.
“Where are you taking me?” Her voice was coated with that same fatigue that she apparently wasn’t able to fight off any longer.
“To bed. Alone,” Angel added.
“No, not alone,” she insisted. “I want to be in your bed, please. And stay with me.”
Angel debated that. Sleeping with her probably wouldn’t lead to a whole lot of sleep.
But rather sex.
And while that appealed to him very much, he knew that sex wasn’t what Mia needed. That meant he was going to have to force himself to keep his hands off her. Thankfully, the adrenaline crash would help him with that.
He took her to the room and eased her onto the bed. Thankfully, she didn’t protest, didn’t try to kiss him. If she had, he would have been toast. No way could he have resisted her. But no protest, no kiss.
The moment Angel had her on the bed, she closed her eyes and muttered something indistinguishable.
Angel covered her with a throw that he took from a chair, and when he was certain she was out like a light, he did as she’d asked. He would stay with her.
He took off his boots and holster, putting his gun on the nightstand, and he slipped in next to her. Angel pulled her against him and let the fog and exhaustion drag him under.
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Chapter Fourteen
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Mia was caught up in the dream. Not a nightmare but rather a flood of memories from the past. Flashes of Angel and her as teenagers. Not of the misery of dealing with Kenton but the other times.
The happy times.
Before life and secrets had torn them apart.
“No more secrets,” she muttered, and the sound of her own voice jolted her out of the dream.
She jackknifed to a sitting position and immediately saw the time. Easy to see it because it was on the wall straight ahead. The clock on the table in the sitting room was projecting the time in bright blue letters.
Just after midnight.
Her brain was too muddled to say for sure how long she’d been asleep, but she thought it must have been six hours or so.
